CBP Form 3461: Entry/Immediate Delivery Explained for Brokers

Key Points

• CBP Form 3461, Entry/Immediate Delivery is the release request that asks CBP to release imported cargo from custody before the entry summary is filed, and in practice it is transmitted electronically as ACE Cargo Release data through ABI rather than on paper.
• The current paper revision is CBP Form 3461 (rev 01/25), used mainly when CBP asks for documents; the electronic transmission is the normal channel as of September 2026.
• CBP uses the filing to verify the consignee and the bond, close the manifest and fix the duty obligation; a successful release comes back as disposition code 1C.
• CBP Form 7501, Entry Summary follows the release filing, and foreign-trade zone weekly estimated entries also ride on a CBP Form 3461, with the summary due within 10 business days in that FTZ context under 19 CFR 146.63.
• The most expensive failures are a wrong importer of record or bond on the filing, an unanswered hold, and a late entry summary that exposes the bond to liquidated damages.

On this page

1. What CBP Form 3461 is and where it comes from
2. At a glance
3. When is CBP Form 3461 filed in the entry lifecycle?
4. Who is responsible for CBP Form 3461?
5. How is CBP Form 3461 transmitted and how does release come back?
6. CBP Form 3461 in foreign-trade zone entries
7. Common CBP Form 3461 errors and what they cost
8. How CBP Form 3461 relates to other CBP forms
9. Frequently asked questions
10. What importers and brokers should do
11. Key references

CBP Form 3461, Entry/Immediate Delivery is the filing a customs broker or self-filer submits to ask CBP to release imported cargo from CBP custody before the entry summary is presented. It is prepared from the bill of lading, the commercial invoice, and the importer and bond data of record, and today it is normally transmitted electronically as ACE Cargo Release data over ABI rather than lodged as paper. In the entry lifecycle it sits at the front: CBP Form 3461 gets the freight moving, and CBP Form 7501, Entry Summary later reports the classification, value and duty.

The links in this article go to the primary documents: the regulations, the official CBP form and program pages, and the tariff schedule itself. Read the source.

At a glance

• Full name: CBP Form 3461, Entry/Immediate Delivery (current paper revision 01/25).
• Who prepares or uses it: the licensed customs broker or a self-filing importer, acting for the importer of record; CBP reviews it.
• When in the lifecycle: pre-arrival or at arrival, before the entry summary on CBP Form 7501.
• System or channel: ABI transmission as ACE Cargo Release; paper CBP Form 3461 only when CBP requests documents.
• Governing authority: 19 CFR 143.34 for entry and immediate delivery documentation, with 19 CFR 146.62 and 19 CFR 146.63 for foreign-trade zone entries.
• Release indicator: disposition code 1C returned to the filer.
• Related terms: CBP Form 7501, CBP Form 301, CBP Form 5106, CBP Form 7512, CBP Form 214, CBP Form 216, CBP Form 28, CBP Form 29, CBP Form 19.

What CBP Form 3461 is and where it comes from

CBP Form 3461, Entry/Immediate Delivery exists because release from CBP custody and the accounting for duty are two different events that happen at two different times. The filing is the request side of that split: it identifies the shipment, the importer of record, the consignee, the bond securing the transaction, the carrier and conveyance, the tariff information CBP needs to screen the goods, and the port where release is sought. Documentation requirements for entry and immediate delivery are set out in 19 CFR 143.34, and the paper artifact, CBP Form 3461 (rev 01/25), remains the reference layout for what the electronic message must carry. The official form is published on the CBP forms page.

Practically, the data on a CBP Form 3461 comes from three documents the broker already has: the bill of lading or air waybill for the manifest and conveyance details, the commercial invoice for the merchandise description and value indicators, and the importer file for the importer number and bond. Nothing on the filing is invented; every field should be traceable to a source document, which is why file discipline upstream determines how clean the release filing is.

When is CBP Form 3461 filed in the entry lifecycle?

CBP Form 3461 is filed either pre-arrival, so that release is authorized the moment the conveyance arrives and the entry can be made, or at arrival once the cargo is on the ground and manifested. Filing early is the norm for time-sensitive freight because it lets CBP and the partner government agencies complete their screening before the vessel, aircraft or truck reaches the port, which is the difference between a same-day pickup and a demurrage problem.

After CBP acts on the filing, the entry summary follows on CBP Form 7501, which is where classification, valuation, duty, taxes and fees are declared and deposited. The two filings are sequential, not interchangeable: a release under CBP Form 3461 does not satisfy the summary obligation, and the summary does not substitute for the release request.

Who is responsible for CBP Form 3461?

Responsibility for CBP Form 3461 runs to the importer of record, even though the broker or self-filer physically prepares and transmits it. That means the importer identity registered on CBP Form 5106, Create/Update Importer Identity Form, which registers or updates an importer of record or ultimate consignee identity in ACE, must match what appears on the release filing, and the bond referenced must be the correct CBP Form 301, Customs Bond, the surety bond, single transaction or continuous, that secures duties, taxes, fees and compliance obligations to CBP. If the importer identity record is stale or the continuous bond is insufficient or terminated, the release request is the point where that shows up.

CBP's side of the transaction is verification rather than passive receipt. CBP checks the consignee and the bond, closes the manifest against the release, and fixes the duty obligation for the shipment. Holds, exams and partner agency reviews are applied at this stage, and an unanswered hold simply stops the cargo.

How is CBP Form 3461 transmitted and how does release come back?

CBP Form 3461 is transmitted electronically as ACE Cargo Release data through ABI, with paper used only when CBP specifically requests documents. Filers build the message to the applicable ACE CATAIR record layouts, which CBP publishes on its ACE CATAIR page; confirm the current layout and any conditional data elements there or with your software provider before changing a transmission.

When CBP authorizes release, the filer receives disposition code 1C. Any other disposition means the cargo is not free to move and the filer needs to work the message, not re-transmit blindly. Because system availability affects release timing, brokers watch ACE maintenance notices; see our note on the ACE production maintenance window for an example of how downtime is announced.

CBP Form 3461 in foreign-trade zone entries

CBP Form 3461 also carries foreign-trade zone entries, including the weekly estimated entry that zone operators use to cover a week of removals. The zone regulations at 19 CFR 146.62 address the documentation for zone entries, and 19 CFR 146.63 addresses the entry summary that follows, which in that FTZ context is due within 10 business days. Confirm the current text of both sections before relying on the timing, because the day count applies to the FTZ situation and should not be generalized to other entry types.

Zone work brings its own paperwork around the release filing. Merchandise enters the zone on CBP Form 214, Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Admission and/or Status Designation, which admits merchandise and elects zone status such as privileged foreign, nonprivileged foreign, domestic or zone-restricted. Activity inside the zone such as manipulation, manufacture, exhibition or destruction is authorized on CBP Form 216, Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Activity Permit. Goods that move to the zone or between ports without being entered travel in bond on CBP Form 7512, Transportation Entry and Manifest of Goods Subject to CBP Inspection and Permit, the in-bond application for immediate transportation, transportation and exportation, or immediate exportation movements, now filed electronically.

Common CBP Form 3461 errors and what they cost

The recurring CBP Form 3461 failures are few and predictable. First, the wrong importer of record or the wrong bond on the filing, which stalls release and can force a corrective refiling. Second, unanswered holds: a hold sits until the filer responds with what CBP or the partner agency asked for, and nobody at the port chases it for you. Third, a late entry summary after the release, which puts the bond at risk of liquidated damages because the release obligation was secured by that bond.

Downstream, classification and value problems declared on the summary can bring CBP Form 28, Request for Information, CBP's written request to an importer or its broker for documents or facts needed to appraise or classify entered goods, and then CBP Form 29, Notice of Action, CBP's notice that it proposes or has taken action on an entry such as a rate advance, reclassification or value change. If the decision stands and you disagree, the vehicle is CBP Form 19, Protest, the form used on paper or through the ACE Protest module to contest a CBP decision under 19 U.S.C. 1514. None of those flow from the release filing directly, but the data you put on CBP Form 3461 is the first place the entry's story is told.

How CBP Form 3461 relates to other CBP forms

CBP Form 3461 is not CBP Form 7501 and it is not the Importer Security Filing. The release request asks for custody release; the entry summary accounts for the transaction and the duty; the security filing is a separate advance cargo data requirement. Drawback sits at the other end of the lifecycle entirely: the old paper CBP Form 7551, Drawback Entry and CBP Form 7552, Delivery Certificate for Purposes of Drawback were abolished under TFTEA drawback, with claims filed electronically in ACE and transfers documented by records rather than certificates. For duty exposure on the goods you are releasing, work from the classification in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and our 2026 tariff code overview.

Frequently asked questions

Is CBP Form 3461 still filed on paper?

CBP Form 3461 is normally transmitted electronically as ACE Cargo Release data through ABI. The paper form, revision 01/25, is used when CBP requests documents; otherwise the electronic message is the filing.

What does disposition code 1C mean on a CBP Form 3461?

Disposition code 1C is the response that tells the filer CBP has released the cargo covered by the CBP Form 3461. Any other disposition means the shipment is not released and the filer must resolve the message before the cargo moves.

Does filing CBP Form 3461 satisfy the entry summary requirement?

No. CBP Form 3461 requests release from CBP custody, and CBP Form 7501, Entry Summary must still be filed to declare classification, value and duty. In the foreign-trade zone context, 19 CFR 146.63 sets a 10 business day period for the summary following the release filing.

Who is liable if CBP Form 3461 names the wrong importer or bond?

The importer of record bears the obligation, and the bond named on the CBP Form 3461 is what secures it, so a mismatch between the filing, the CBP Form 5106 identity record and the CBP Form 301 bond has to be fixed rather than worked around.

What importers and brokers should do

• Reconcile your importer identity record and bond data before peak season so CBP Form 3461 filings do not fail on consignee or bond verification.
• Set an internal trigger that ties each released CBP Form 3461 to its entry summary, so no release ages out and exposes the bond to liquidated damages.
• Treat every non-1C disposition and every hold as an assigned task with an owner, not a system message to be re-transmitted.
• For FTZ operations, confirm the current text of 19 CFR 146.62 and 19 CFR 146.63 and document who prepares the weekly estimated entry and the follow-on summary.

Key references

• 19 CFR 143.34: entry and immediate delivery documentation requirements behind CBP Form 3461.
• 19 CFR 146.62: documentation for foreign-trade zone entries.
• 19 CFR 146.63: entry summary following a zone entry, including the 10 business day period.
• CBP forms page: official CBP Form 3461 (rev 01/25) and CBP Form 7501.
• ACE CATAIR: record layouts for ACE Cargo Release transmissions over ABI.
• 19 U.S.C. 1514: statutory basis for protests filed on CBP Form 19.
• Harmonized Tariff Schedule: official classification and duty rates for the goods being released.